Oh, come on! Is an open mind really all that necessary?
The answer to that question is, Absolutely!†No one has ever said it better than that great innovator in music, Frank Zappa, who coined the above TITLE, by the way. (Search and listen to his music all you youngsters under the age of 80 and you still see what I mean about being innovative.)
Since I was one of those young fools who jumped out of perfectly good airplanes when I was a member of the 11th Airborne Division in Ft. Campbell, KY, this hit home with me, and I have never forgotten it.
Of course there are some reservations to any tenet. There are many things I have never tried to do, most of which, I didn’t have the slightest idea even how to do them. Build an Atomic Bomb, for example. Of course, in this case why would I even need one, my mother-in-law has long passed to her reward. Another is invent the Universal Solvent. If I invented it what would I keep it in? Now, to you Grammar Police who will take me to task, I know “A preposition is something you never end a sentence with! (Oh, so I just did it again! Ha! Ha! Well, for you perfectionists, I refer you to one of the most famous orators in the English language, Winston Churchill who, upon being admonished by one of you replied, “That is the sort of nonsense up with which I shall not put!â€
But, back to our original subject, The Open Mind. There are too many cases in which it is misused and it’s not my intention to list them. You who use them for your own gratitude will know all about them and there’s no need to spread your kind of “philosophy†to the innocents among us!
I know, because I was one of those in my youth, but strange how things become much more clear when you reach 90 and above. I just hope my experience will help you who are struggling now at your tender ages. Far too often “Live and Learn†can be a very expensive or totally life-ruining tenet to follow! I have been rich, and I have been poor. Rich is better! And I would have more than likely become so far sooner had my mind been just a little bit less open in a few instances.
Love to all, Mel
